1. Field of the Application
The present application relates generally to a crib, and more particularly, to a baby crib with sides made of a flexible, breathable material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many manufacturers sell cribs with slats made of wood or other solid materials. Among other concerns, wood-slatted cribs can cause injuries to babies who bump their heads or other body parts against the hard slats, or who get their limbs caught between the slats. Accordingly, it would be desirable to design a crib with soft, breathable sides, such that the dangers of wood-slatted cribs would be avoided.
In addition, some wood-slatted cribs have a drop-down side that makes it easier for a parent to place the baby into the crib, soothe the baby, or remove the baby from the crib. However, cribs with drop-down sides have increasingly become a safety concern because the drop-down side can separate from the rest of the crib, creating a gap that has led to an alarming number of strangulation deaths.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to design a crib with flexible, breathable sides, at least one of which is retractable. If a baby rolls face-first against one of the sides, there would be no suffocation risk because of the breathable material, and there would also be no risk of harm from a baby bumping into hard wood or having a limb get caught between the slats of the crib.
In addition, many manufacturers sell “play yards” that have soft, breathable sides, but that can only accommodate a very thin, non-full size crib mattress to prevent a baby from being trapped in a gap between the sides and the mattress. Moreover, those products have sides which collapse in order to fold and store them in a small space. Accordingly, it would be desirable to design a crib with soft, breathable sides that can accommodate a full size crib mattress and which has a system to prevent any gaps between the mattress and the sides.